Signal delay skew reduction system

ABSTRACT

A system and method are provided for reducing signal skew. The method includes receiving a netlist having components and connections among the components. Each connection has at least one signal wire. A plurality of net groups is identified, each net group including at least some of the connections and for which equivalent routing is desired. For each net group, the method includes systematically routing connection paths between the components for the connections, each connection path extending between an output of one of the components and an input to at least one other of the components and including at least one path fragment. Routing includes, for at least one of the connections of the net group, routing at least one grounded shielding wire in a routing channel adjacent and parallel to at least one of the path fragments of the connection path.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a divisional of and claims priority from U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/173,855, filed Jun. 30, 2011, which is adivisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/015,925, filed Jan.17, 2008, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference intheir entireties.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to electrical circuits. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure relates to a system for reducingdelay skews in the propagation of signals, such as in digital logiccircuits.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Semiconductor integrated circuits often incorporate hundreds ofthousands of semiconductor elements on a single chip. These elements areinterconnected to perform a desired function.

There are many applications that require precise delay skew controlacross a group of signals in the design of digital logic circuitry.Delay skew is often defined as the variation or delta in propagationdelays among such a group of signals.

A source synchronous interface is an example of a general category of atype of application that often requires precise delay skew control. Asource synchronous interface is a parallel data transfer bus, whichtypically includes a group of data signals and reference clock signals.Both the data signals and the reference clock signals need to travelthrough equal propagation delays and arrive at their respectivedestinations at the same time, to within a relatively small margin oferror, in order to be sampled correctly.

One particular type of source synchronous interface is referred to as adouble data rate (DDR) interface in which data is transferred on eachhalf-cycle of the reference clock. In this type of interface, duty cycledistortion (i.e., rise time and fall time differences) also needs to beminimized to provide the optimal data sampling window when the data issampled at the destination.

In addition to the source synchronous interface application, anotherarea that often requires precise delay skew management is the area ofclock synthesis across heterogeneous logic blocks in integrated circuits(IC) implementations. Due to the heterogeneity of different logicblocks, the various clock signals of the global clock tree may divergeinto a wide variety of differences in their delay at the clock endpoints, disrupting logic processing across the IC.

In a typical IC design environment, the delay skew management isachieved through a tedious manual iterative manner. The processtypically starts with an initial trial run with the physical designtool. It then feeds back the initial design to the design group fortiming analysis to determine whether the initial design fits therequirements. If not, the process repeats again through enoughiterations until the design converges to an acceptable result. Sinceskew requirements have to be observed across all manufacturing processranges as well as all operating conditions such as voltage andtemperature ranges (PVT), the process can be very time-consuming and theresult may not be able to satisfy all PVT conditions. Improved systemsand methods for reducing signal delay skew would therefore provide broadadvantages for a wide range of digital circuitry.

The discussion above is merely provided for general backgroundinformation and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining thescope of the claimed subject matter, nor does it identify any needs orproblems recognized in the art.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a method. Accordingto one illustrative embodiment, the method includes receiving a netlisthaving components and connections among the components. Each connectionhas at least one signal wire. A plurality of net groups are identified,each net group including at least some of the connections and for whichequivalent routing is desired. For each net group, the method includessystematically routing connection paths between the components for theconnections, each connection path extending between an output of one ofthe components and an input to at least one other of the components andincluding at least one path fragment. Routing includes, for at least oneof the connections of the net group, routing at least one groundedshielding wire in a routing channel adjacent and parallel to at leastone of the path fragments of the connection path.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a non-transitorymedium having executable instructions capable of being read and executedby a computing system and thereby configuring the computing system toreceive a logic design and to provide a corresponding physical designembodying the logic design. The computing system executing theinstructions performs a method including receiving a netlist havingcomponents and connections among the components. Each connection has atleast one signal wire. A plurality of net groups is identified, each netgroup including at least some of the connections and for whichequivalent routing is desired. For each net group, the method includessystematically routing connection paths between the components for theconnections, each connection path extending between an output of one ofthe components and an input to at least one other of the components andincluding at least one path fragment. Routing includes, for at least oneof the connections of the net group, routing at least one groundedshielding wire in a routing channel adjacent and parallel to at leastone of the path fragments of the connection path.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 provides a block diagram depicting a process for reducing asignal delay skew in an integrated circuit implementation, according toan illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart illustrating a method for reducing a signaldelay skew in an integrated circuit implementation, according to oneillustrative embodiment.

FIG. 3 depicts a flowchart illustrating a method for equalizing variousconnection paths of an integrated circuit netlist, according to oneillustrative embodiment.

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram for a connection path involved in a pathequalization process, according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram for a set of connection paths involved ina path equalization process, according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 6 depicts a block diagram for a set of connection paths involved ina path equalization process, according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 7 depicts block diagrams for a set of connection paths involved ina path equalization process, according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 8 depicts block diagrams for a set of connection paths involved ina path equalization process, according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 9 depicts block diagrams for a set of connection paths involved ina path equalization process, according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 10 depicts block diagrams for a set of connection paths involved ina path equalization process, according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 11 depicts block diagrams for a set of connection paths involved ina path equalization process, according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 12 depicts block diagrams for a set of connection paths involved inan equivalent routing process, according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 13 depicts block diagrams for a set of connection paths involved inan equivalent routing process, according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 14 depicts block diagrams for a set of connection paths involved inan equivalent routing process, according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 15 depicts block diagrams for a set of connection paths involved inan equivalent routing process, according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 16 depicts a flowchart for a an equivalent routing process,according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 17 depicts a flowchart for a an equivalent routing process,according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 18 depicts a flowchart for a an equivalent routing process,according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 19 depicts block diagrams for a set of connection paths involved inan equivalent routing process, according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 20 depicts block diagrams for a set of connection paths involved inan equivalent routing process, according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 21 depicts block diagrams for a set of connection paths involved inan equivalent routing process, according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 22 depicts block diagrams for a set of connection paths involved inan equivalent routing shielding process, according to one illustrativeembodiment.

FIG. 23 depicts a flowchart for a an equivalent routing shieldingprocess, according to one illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 24 depicts block diagrams for a set of connection paths involved inan equivalent routing shielding process, according to one illustrativeembodiment.

FIG. 25 depicts block diagrams for a set of connection paths involved inan equivalent routing shielding process, according to one illustrativeembodiment.

FIG. 26 depicts block diagrams for a set of connection paths involved inan equivalent routing shielding process, according to one illustrativeembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 provides a block diagram that illustrates a process 100configured for reducing or minimizing signal delay skew, illustrativelyincluding data signal delay skew, reference clock signal delay skew, orduty cycle distortion, for example, in an integrated circuitimplementation, for a signal propagation tree or network such as asingle data rate or double data rate (DDR) source synchronous interface,or heterogeneous logic blocks in a wide variety of circuitryimplementations, such as integrated circuit (IC) implementations, andcomputer motherboard and other circuit board implementations, forexample. Such skew may take the form of differences, along differentconnection paths within one signal propagation tree, in signal timingdelays, ramp-up or ramp-down times for a signal duty cycle, and aspectsaffecting signals such as voltage, capacitance, and temperature. Thesignal propagation tree may include a single data rate sourcesynchronous interface, a double data rate (DDR) source synchronousinterface, a heterogeneous logic block global clock tree, or otherforms, in different embodiments.

A group of signal-propagating connection paths with a common or parallelsignal origin and subject to potentially different influences on thesignal along different connection paths, may be considered to form asingle skew group, and the design for the physical implementation ofsuch a skew group may be referred to as a netlist. Reducing the skew ofa netlist involves modifying the physical design of a skew group toreduce any factor that influences the skew between any aspects of asignal across two or more connection paths of that skew group. Process100 for reducing delay skew reduces the turn-around-time of a skewreduction process as part of the process of establishing the design ofan integrated circuit implementation, according to an illustrativeembodiment. Process 100 may be implemented in a wide variety ofembodiments, illustratively including software comprisingcomputer-executable instructions or other design tools, for example.

Process 100 includes a logic design process 110 and a physical designprocess 120 for producing a physical implementation of a logic designproduced by logic design process 110. Logic design process 110 includeselement 111 of preparing an initial netlist 113, which is provided tothe physical design process 120 for designing a physical implementationof the logic design. According to one illustrative embodiment, theinitial netlist 113 includes a physical design for components and signalconnection paths among those components. The components may include anyof a variety of logic components and other associated components.Illustrative examples of such components and signal connection paths areconsidered below. The initial netlist may be modified, such as toprovide a skew-corrected netlist, as discussed below. The physicaldesign of the netlist may then be used to manufacture a product, such asan integrated circuit implementation, in accordance with the physicaldesign.

Physical design process 120 includes a variety of stages that maypotentially be included in various embodiments, and which are consideredin further detail below. These include path equalization stage 121,component placement stage 122, enhanced timing closure stage 123,selected nets equivalent routing stage 124, routing other nets stage125, shielding stage 126, and other stages 127, for example. Differentembodiments may include any combination of stages selected from amongthese and other examples. The end product of the physical design process120 is a skew-corrected netlist 131 that is provided back to the logicdesign process 110, where it may be subjected to a timing analysis stage133.

Design specifications that must be met for the physical design include,for example, maintenance of skew delay and duty cycle timing across allnetlists or signal propagation trees within the circuit implementation,within a rigorous margin of error across a wide range for a variety ofoperating condition variables, such as temperature and voltage. Intraditional methods of integrated circuit design, a timing analysisstage generally reveals a large number of different run scenarios inwhich the circuit design does not fulfill the design specifications insome way, and the results of the timing analysis must be used to startanother iteration of the physical design process to try to address thedesign failures, and such a cycle of design modification and timinganalysis must be reiterated, often through tens of iterations, oftenrequiring months of labor by a design team. In sharp contrast, thepresent disclosure provides for a systematic method of assuring asufficiently reduced skew delay for a physical design with a singleiteration of the physical design process. This prospectively assuredsingle iteration physical design removes the uncertainty and guessworkout of the physical design process, reducing its required time to a timeframe of mere days or hours or less, instead of several months, tocomplete the single needed physical design iteration and arrive at aspecification-compliant physical design.

FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart for a method 200 of performing the physicaldesign process 120 of FIG. 1 in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment. Method 200 includes step 201, of receiving an initialnetlist comprising components and connection paths among the components.The netlist involves the components and connection paths included in asingle signal propagation tree specified by the logic design, that is tobe embodied in a physical design, according to an illustrativeembodiment. Method 200 further includes step 203, of identifying one ormore skew-influencing features in a first connection path in the initialnetlist that lack corresponding skew-influencing features in a secondconnection path in the initial netlist. Skew-influencing features may betaken to be corresponding if they are equivalent to, or have anequivalent effect on skew timing, for example. These can include anyfeatures that can affect the signal timing skew, such as driver pins,receiver pins, or components such as buffers, inverters, AND gates, ORgates, NAND gates, NOR gates, XAND gates, XOR gates, splitters,multiplexers, or demultiplexers, as illustrative examples in anintegrated circuit implementation, or such as integrated circuits andother components in an illustrative circuit board implementation, forexample. This may also be done for any connection paths that lackskew-influencing features found in any other connection paths within anetlist.

Step 205 includes generating a skew-corrected netlist wherein the secondconnection path comprises one or more added skew-influencing featurescorresponding to those of the first connection path, within the physicaldesign of the netlist. Again, this may include adding correspondingskew-influencing features to any connection paths that are found lackingin skew-influencing features corresponding to those of other connectionpaths, where any of the lacking connection paths may assume the role ofthe “second” connection path to which such features are added, tocorrespond to those of any other connection path in the netlist that maybe taken to be the “first” connection path. Steps 203 and 205 maytherefore also include identifying one or more skew-influencing featuresin the second connection path in the initial netlist that lackcorresponding skew-influencing features in the first connection path inthe initial netlist, and providing one or more added skew-influencingfeatures to the first connection path that correspond to those of thesecond connection path. The netlist thus provided is “skew-corrected” inthat at least one feature of one connection path is indicated to bemodified to provide for a reduced skew difference relative to anotherconnection path in the same skew group, where a skew group may forexample be any combination of connection paths with a common sourcesignal, and two or more components in different signal connection pathsdownstream of the source signal such that they may potentially beaffected by a timing skew along those connection paths. This may includeconnection paths for data signals, reference clock signals, and soforth.

Method 200 also includes step 207, of outputting the skew-correctednetlist. Such a skew-corrected netlist is therefore also a physicaldesign which may subsequently be used for manufacturing integratedcircuit implementations based on the skew-corrected netlist.

Method 200 therefore provides a prospectively systematic,single-iteration process for reducing or minimizing skew timingdifferences along different connection paths of a netlist, where suchskew timing difference reduction remains effective across a wide rangeof temperatures, voltages, and other operating conditions. Differentillustrative aspects of the skew reduction system include equalizingconnection paths, enhanced timing closure, equivalent routing forcorresponding nets of a common skew group, and ground shielding forequivalent routes, for example. Any one of or combination of theseaspects may be used in different embodiments, within the general methodinvolving any aspect of generating and outputting a skew-correctednetlist that is indicated to include a reduced difference in skew timingbetween at least two connection paths within the netlist, relative tothe initial netlist.

Method 200 may, for example, further include accompanying anytransformation of one connection path, or the components on theconnection path, with equivalent transformations of other, parallelconnection paths within the same skew group. This may be referred to asenhanced timing closure. For example, this may include adding orsubtracting a component of a certain type in one connection path in anetlist, and accompanying that addition or subtraction of that componentwith a corresponding addition or subtraction of a component of the sametype to the other connection paths in the netlist. Enhanced timingclosure is able to resolve ramptime violations, setup and hold timeviolations, and otherwise satisfy timing constraints, by makingequivalent transformations of different connection paths of the sameskew group. For example, if a buffer, inverter, or other component isadded to or removed from one fragment of one connection path within askew group, then the same type of component is added to or removed fromthe corresponding fragment of other connection paths within the skewgroup. More specific illustrative examples of this are provided below,in connection with other aspects of reducing skew across a netlist.

FIG. 3 provides a flowchart for a method 300 according to anotherillustrative embodiment that focuses on performing path equalization asan illustrative aspect of the system for correcting or reducing skew ona netlist. Other examples also exist and can include the addition of oneor more steps not shown in FIG. 3, the elimination of one or more steps,or the performances of steps in a different order, for example. FIGS.4-11 provide block diagrams illustrating components and connection pathsof a netlist at different stages in a path equalization process,following method 300 as illustrated in FIG. 3. Path equalizationaddresses the connection paths belonging to a skew group, and includesmaking transformations of the netlist for the skew group, to make thedifferent connection paths equivalent to each other, or otherwise reducethe skew between the different paths, without altering theirfunctionality. Different paths can be considered to be equivalent toeach other if the paths have the same number of components of the sametypes, and if the paths have equivalent driver pins and equivalent setsof receiver pins. This may include transformations of one or more pathsin a skew group to cause different paths to have the same numbers ofbuffers, the same numbers of inverters, equivalent fanouts of nets, andso forth, thereby reducing skew differentials across the different pathsand instead providing for equivalent signal timing across the differentpaths. Path equalization may also include reducing the number of fanoutnets on the paths of a skew group.

As depicted in FIG. 3, method 300 begins with step 301, of inputting aninitial netlist, and next includes step 303, of analyzing connectionpaths and finding pin correspondences, which is discussed as follows, inaccordance with an illustrative example.

Each connection path of a skew group can be referenced as a list of pinsthat lie along that path. This can be considered with regard to theillustrative example of netlist 400 of FIG. 4. The list of pins in alongnetlist 400 includes the following sequence:401-403A-403Z-405A-405Z-407A-407Z-409A-409Z-411A-411Z-413B-413Z-415. Inthis list of pins, the reference number suffix A refers to first inputpins of a given component; the reference number suffix B refers to asecond input pin for a component; and the reference number suffix Zrefers to an output pin of a component. Among the components included inthis netlist, component 401 is a driver pin, component 403 is a buffer,components 405, 409, and 411 are inverters, component 407 is an ANDgate, component 413 is an OR gate, and component 415 is a receiver pin.Driver pin 401 provides the input for netlist 400 while receiver pin 415provides the output for netlist 400. Input pins 407A and 413B also serveas local receiver pins while output pins 407Z and 413Z serve as localdriver pins. Input pins and receiver pins are essentially synonymous,and may be used interchangeably; the same is also true of output pinsand driver pins.

Buffers and inverters may collectively be referred to as repeaters,while the other types of components are classified as non-repeaters. Inan illustrative typical case, all connection paths of one skew group mayhave the same set of non-repeater components, and the paths of this skewgroup may differ only in their repeater cells. Each receiver pin istherefore situated downstream along a connection path from a firstupstream driver pin, from which it is potentially separated only by anintervening set of one or more repeaters (if any). For example, receiverpin 407A, defining one of the inputs of AND gate 407, is connected tonetlist driver pin 401 by an intervening connection path that includestwo repeaters, i.e. buffer 403 and inverter 405, but that does notinclude any other driver pins or receiver pins. A receiver pin maytherefore be said to be connected to a driver pin if the two areconnected by a connection path that may include repeaters but does notinclude any non-repeaters or any intervening driver pins or receiverpins, in this illustrative example. If this connection path includes anodd number of inverters, the receiver pin is said to beinverter-connected (or simply I-connected) to the driver pin, while ifthe connection path includes an even number of inverters, the receiverpin is said to be buffer-connected (or simply B-connected) to the driverpin. Receiver pin 407A is therefore inverter-connected to driver pin401, while receiver pin 413B is buffer-connected to driver pin 407Z.

Netlist 400 may be considered as a series of connection paths definedfrom each driver pin to its immediately subsequent receiver pin, aselementary connection path sections within the larger connection path ofthe netlist 400, each with a path segment, extending between a pair ofpins, including a driver pin and an immediately subsequent receiver pin.The collected pairs of pins associated with the elementary connectionpath segments within netlist 400 may be considered as part of a set ofpairs, labeled as the set CON. As part of finding pin correspondences asin step 303 of method 300, the set CON of pairs of pins may be dividedinto different classes of equivalence labeled CON₁, CON₂, . . . CON_(N),where N is the number of classes of equivalence. Two pairs from the setCON belong to the same class of equivalence if the connection path fromthe driver pin to the receiver pin of the first pair, and the connectionpath from the driver pin to the receiver pin of the second pair, arecorresponding fragments of two connection paths of a skew group. Classesof equivalence for the existing pairs in netlist 400 may be provided byadding a second connection path to netlist 400, producing new netlist500 as depicted in FIG. 5, thereby contributing to skew optimization, asfurther described below.

The new connection path section in netlist 500 is connected to theexisting connection path segment at the node of output pin 403Z, andcontinues from that point to receiver pin 525, along the way alsoincluding AND gate 517, inverter 519, and OR gate 523. Netlist 500therefore includes a skew group with two connection paths: a firstconnection path from input pin 401 to receiver pin 415, and a secondconnection path from driver pin 401 to receiver pin 525. The secondconnection path includes inverter 519 that corresponds to inverter 409,and also includes a number of non-repeater components that correspond topre-existing non-repeater components on the first connection path: ANDgate 517 corresponds to AND gate 407, OR gate 523 corresponds to OR gate413, and output pin 525 corresponds to output pin 415. Thesecorresponding pairs of components therefore facilitate the establishmentof three classes of equivalence, i.e. the number N of classes ofequivalence is labeled as N=3. These three classes of equivalence may belabeled CON₁={(401, 407A), (401, 517A)}; CON₂={ (407Z, 413B), (517Z,523B)}; and CON₃={(413Z, 415), (523Z, 525)}, where each equivalenceclass is labeled by indicating each of its path segments with thereference labels of the driver pin and the receiver pin of one pathsegment within a pair of parentheses. In other words, the first class ofequivalence CON₁ includes the equivalent path segments from 401 to 407Aand from 401 to 517A, and so forth, where each class of equivalenceincludes corresponding path segments from each of the two connectionpaths, where each path segment is bounded by an output pin and the nextinput pin on a non-repeater component downstream of the output pin. Onthe other hand, if a netlist includes a class of equivalence with onlyone path segment, that path segment has no equivalent path segment onanother connection path.

After step 303 of analyzing the connection paths and finding pincorrespondences, method 300 for path equalization next includes step305, of inserting splitters. Sometimes one class of equivalenceCON_(k)(k=1,2, . . . ,N) may contain both a buffer-connected pathsegment and an inverter-connected path segment, as is true of theequivalence classes CON₁ and CON₂, as further explained below. Suchsegments can be equalized by introducing a component known as asplitter, and using it to replace selected inverters in some cases, forexample. A splitter is a component with one input A, and two outputs Zand NZ, such that Z=A and ZN=not(A), and the arcs A->Z and A->NZinternal to the splitter have similar signal propagation timingcharacteristics—ideally, as similar as possible. Because of thesimilarity in timing properties between an inverted output and anon-inverted output, a splitter can provide the effect of an inverterwithout counting as an inverter for purposes of evaluating whether aconnection path is inverter-connected or buffer-connected. Insertingsplitters at the appropriate positions of netlist 500 of FIG. 5 resultsin a further modified netlist shown as netlist 600 in FIG. 6.

Netlist 600 includes splitters 631, 633, and 643. Splitter 631 hasreplaced inverter 405 of netlist 500, and splitter 633 has replacedinverter 411 of netlist 500. Splitter 643 is introduced on the secondconnection path where there had been no component, at a positioncorresponding to that of splitter 633 on the first connection path. Theconnection path fragment leading to receiver pin 517A of AND gate 517 isalso altered to begin at output pin 631Z of splitter 631 m, rather thanoutput pin 403Z of inverter 403 in netlist 500.

The splitters added in netlist 600 further address the classes ofequivalence in netlist 500. In netlist 500, only the third equivalenceclass CON₃ has the same connectedness in both its path segments, i.e.they are both buffer-connected, while the other two equivalence classesCON₁ and CON₂ in netlist 500 each have one buffer-connected path segmentand one inverter-connected path segment. A path segment isbuffer-connected if it has an even number of inverters, including if ithas zero inverters. The insertion of the splitters 631, 633, and 643 asprovided in netlist 600, including the elimination of the inverters 405and 411, modifies the equivalence classes of the netlist, includingproviding for all of the classes of equivalence to have both their pathsegments have the same connectedness, either both buffer-connected orboth inverter-connected.

Specifically, with the insertion of the splitters 631, 633, and 643,netlist 600 has four equivalence classes, which may be labeledCON₁={(631NZ, 407A), (631Z, 517A)}; CON₂={(407Z, 633A), (517Z, 643A)};CON₃={(633NZ, 413B), (643Z, 523B)}; and CON₄={(413Z, 415), (523Z, 525)}.The number of equivalence classes N is therefore equal to 4. Whereasnetlist 500 of FIG. 5 had one class of equivalence that began at driverpin 401, the path segment that begins there now ends at splitter 631,forming only a single path segment within its class of correspondence,so it is no longer considered within the equivalence classes. Each ofthe four equivalence classes has both path segments eitherbuffer-connected or inverter-connected. An equivalence class with onlybuffer-connected path segments may be referred to as B-class, while anequivalence class with only inverter-connected path segments may bereferred to as I-class. In the case of netlist 600, CON₁, CON₃ and CON₄are B-class, while CON₂ is I-class.

Referring once again back to path equalization method 300 of FIG. 3,after step 305 of inserting splitters, the next step is step 307, ofbuilding balanced buffer/inverter trees. All driver pins in a netlistmay be divided into two classes of equivalence. Two driver pins (driverpin 1, driver pin 2) belong to one class of equivalence if there are 2receiver pins (receiver pin 1, receiver pin 2) such that pairs (driverpin 1, receiver pin 1) and (driver pin 2, receiver pin 2) belong to oneclass of path segments CON_(k). Considering only the driver pins in eachof the four equivalence classes in FIG. 6, the pairs of driver pins inthese equivalence classes are {631NZ, 631Z}, {407Z, 517Z}, {633NZ,643Z}, and {413Z, 523Z }. The goal of building the balancedbuffer/inverter trees is to build the corresponding trees of buffersand/or inverters connected to driver pins of one driver class such thatthe following four conditions are met:

1. These trees must have fanout of not more than a threshold value offanout F.

2. The roots of these trees are driver pins of one class of drivers.

3. The leaves of these trees are all receiver pins connected to driverpins.

4. If two path segments (driver pin 1, receiver pin 1) and (driver pin2, receiver pin 2) belong to one class CON_(k), where k=1,2, . . . N,then:

4a. Lists of buffers and inverters that are inserted between driver pin1 and receiver pin 1, and between driver pin 2 and receiver pin 2, mustbe the same.

4b. Nets that lie on a path from driver pin 1 to receiver pin 1 and netsthat lie on the path from driver pin 2 to receiver pin 2 must have thesame fanouts.

The task of building balanced buffer/inverter trees becomes morecomplicated if some driver pins are connected to receiver pins ofmultiple number of classes CON_(k). This is illustratively demonstratedin FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 depicts illustrative netlist 700, in a configuration prior tostep 307 being performed, of building balanced buffer/inverter trees.Skew group 700 includes which includes two separate, correspondingconnection paths stemming from driver pins 701 and 751, with the twoconnection paths still in the same skew group as each other. The firstconnection path includes buffer 703, inverter 713, and receiver pins705, 707, 715, and 717, while the second connection path includes buffer753, and receiver pins 755, 757, 765, and 767. Driver pins 701, 751 formone equivalence class, in this illustrative embodiment. Netlist 700 alsohas two equivalence classes, CON₁ and CON₂, for its path segments, whereCON¹={(701, 705), (701, 707), (751, 755), (751, 757), (751, 765), (751,767)}, and CON₂={(701, 715), (701, 717)}. The fanout F of netlist 700 is2. Driver pin 701 is therefore connected to receiver pins of bothclasses of equivalence, CON₁ and CON₂, while driver pin 751 is onlyconnected to path segments of the same equivalence class, CON₁,resulting in unbalanced buffer/inverter trees. This imbalance in thebuffer/inverter trees are another example of skew-influencing featuresthat do not correspond across connection paths of the netlist, and thatare liable to cause signal timing skew. Netlist 700 may therefore bemodified as shown in FIG. 8 to resolve this imbalance.

FIG. 8 depicts netlist 800, which is one illustrative example of a wayto modify netlist 700 of FIG. 7 to establish balanced buffer/invertertrees in the corresponding connection paths, thereby correcting skewbetween the netlists. Netlist 800 includes the addition of inverters801, 803, 805, 851, 853, 855, and 857, the removal of buffers 703 and753, and certain modifications to the connection paths, as depicted.Netlist 800 also satisfies all four of the conditions listed above, forbalancing corresponding trees of buffers and/or inverters. For each pathsegment between a driver pin and a receiver pin of class CON₁, the pathfrom the driver pin to the receiver pin includes two inverters, and allnets of these paths have fanout F of 2. For each path segment between adriver pin and a receiver pin of class CON₁, the path from the driverpin to the receiver pin includes one inverter, and all nets of thesepaths also have fanout F of 2.

Referring once more to path equalization method 300 of FIG. 3, the nextstep is step 309, of balancing the component pins. Sometimes driver pinsor receiver pins of one class of equivalence CON_(k), k=1,2, . . . N,may be output pins or input pins of one component. An illustrativeexample of this is depicted in netlist 900 of FIG. 9. Netlist 900includes two driver pins 901 and 903 leading to input pins 903A, 903Brespectively of OR gate 903. OR gate 903 in turn leads to receiver pin905. In netlist 900, the number of equivalence classes N equals 1, wherethat one equivalence class includes CON₁={(901, 905A), (903, 905B)}.Notwithstanding the pins along the corresponding path segments beingequivalent, they may have different skew-influencing characteristics,such as different capacitances or timing delays. One illustrative way tobalance such pins includes to replace a component with unbalanced pinswith a component that has the equivalent functionality and balancedpins. Another illustrative way of balancing such pins is to add a dummycomponent of the same type, to equalize the skew-influencing features,such as capacitances or timing delays, of the nets. An illustrativeexample of this is provided in the modified netlist 950 of FIG. 9, whichconstitutes a form of netlist 900 that has been modified to include anew OR gate 955, and to add new connection path segments from driver pin901 to input pin 955B of OR gate 955, and, vice versa, from driver pin903 to input pin 955A of OR gate 955. Therefore, after the addition ofOR gate 955 and the new connections as shown, both connection pathsegments have equivalent sets of connected pins, and the component pinsare balanced.

Finally, with step 309 of balancing the component pins, method 300includes the step 311 of outputting the equalized, skew-correctednetlist. This may be in the form of a hardware description languagespecification, for example. This output can be stored on a computerreadable medium, such as a volatile or non-volatile memory, transmittedthrough a communication network, and/or displayed to a user, forexample. The output can include one or more data files, for example,which can have any suitable format or structure. The output may befurther used for manufacturing an integrated circuit using a designderived at least in part from the skew-corrected netlist, for example.

FIG. 10 shows another example of a netlist 1000, of a slightly largerscale, prior to path equalization, and FIG. 11 depicts netlist 1100 asan illustrative example of a modification of netlist 1000 following thesteps of the path equalization method outlined above, according to anillustrative example.

In netlist 1000, there are two pairs of corresponding connection paths.One pair of corresponding connection paths includes a first connectionpath extending from driver pin 1001, to buffer 1003, to inverter 1005,to input pin 1007A of multiplexer 1007, to buffer 1009, to receiver pin1011; and a second connection path from driver pin 1021, to buffer 1023,to inverter 1025, to input pin 1027A of multiplexer 1027, to buffer1029, to receiver pin 1031. All of the path segments and components ineach of these connection paths corresponds to a path segment orcomponent in the other of these connection paths, in the same order. Thesecond pair of corresponding connection paths includes a thirdconnection path extending from driver pin 1001, to buffer 1003, to inputpin 1007B of multiplexer 1007, to buffer 1009, to receiver pin 1011; anda fourth connection path from driver pin 1021, to buffer 1023, to inputpin 1027B of multiplexer 1027, to buffer 1029, to receiver pin 1031.

The first pair of connection paths therefore has differentskew-influencing features than the second pair of connection paths, andmay have a significant timing skew between them. Furthermore, theconnection paths within each of these pairs also have differentskew-influencing features; for example, they have different fanouts,i.e. they have different numbers of receiver pins connected to theirdriver pins, considered for example in terms of the output pins 1003Z,1023Z of equivalent buffers 1003, 1023 in the respective connectionpaths in either of the pairs of corresponding connection paths. Outputpin 1003Z in the first connection path has fanout 2, while output pin1023Z in the second connection path has fanout 3. Likewise, the thirdand fourth connection paths also have different fanouts from each other,and therefore also have different skew-influencing features.

These differences in skew-influencing features within pairs ofcorresponding connection paths are resolved after a path equalizationprocess as described above, which generates a modification of netlist1000 that is depicted in FIG. 11 as netlist 1100. Both skew groupsstemming from driver pins 1001, 1021 are now equivalent in netlist 1100,and both pairs of corresponding connection paths are now equivalent,with skew between the connection paths reduced or minimized, inmodified, skew-corrected netlist 1100. Both components and nets that lieon the connection paths of one skew group are equivalent. Thecorresponding nets have the same driver pins, the same fanouts, and thesame sets of receiver pins.

The steps shown in FIG. 3 and discussed with respect to FIGS. 4-11 canbe implemented individually or collectively, manually or as part of adesign tool, whether implemented as part of an operating system orspecific application, database, component, program, object, module, orsequence of instructions, for example. Such a design tool or toolstypically include one or more instructions or databases that areresident at various times in various memory and storage devices in orassociated with a computing device, and that, when read and executed byone or more processors in a computing device and/or computer network,cause that computer or those computers to perform the instructionsand/or access the databases embodying the various aspects of the presentdisclosure. Examples of computer readable media in which suchinstructions, databases and/or results of the process can be storedinclude but are not limited to recordable media such as volatile andnon-volatile memory devices, floppy and other removable discs, hard discdrives, optical discs, e.g., CD-ROMs, DVDs, etc., among others.

Additional illustrative aspects of process 100 and method 200 mayinclude a tool referred to as equivalent routing. Equivalent routingaddresses differences in the path fragments between different connectionpaths that may influence skew. In equivalent routing, generating theskew-corrected netlist may further include re-routing two of theconnection paths to have equivalent path fragments. In differentillustrative examples, re-routing two of the connection paths to haveequivalent path fragments may include: providing the same number of pathfragments in the first connection path as in the second connection path;providing the path fragments with equal lengths in the first connectionpath as in the second connection path; providing the path fragments withthe same orientations in the first connection path as in the secondconnection path; and providing the path fragments in the same substratelayer in the first connection path as in the second connection path, asdifferent illustrative examples.

In an illustrative example, a circuit design may include any number Ngroups of nets, or connection paths, i.e. N>=1. A specific group of netsmay be referred to as the i-th group of nets, which is said to containN, nets, with (i=1,2, . . . N), and N_(i)>=1. All nets of one group haveone driver pin and the same number of receiver pins. Additional elementsof this illustrative example may be labeled as follows: A number ofreceiver pins of nets of the i-th group are labeled R_(i). A driver pinof the j-th net of the i-th group is labeled DR_(i,j) (i=1,2, . . . N,j=1,2, . . . ,N_(i)). A k-th receiver pin of the j-th net of i-th group(i=1,2, . . . N, j=1,2, . . . ,N_(i), k=1,2, . . . ,R_(i)) is labeledRC_(i,j,k). Receiver pins of the i-th group are split into CL_(i)(CL_(i)<=R_(i)) classes of equivalence, such that k-th receiver pinsRC_(i,j,k) of all nets of the i-th group belong to the same equivalenceclass. This means that for pin RC_(i,j,k) to belong to some class ofequivalence does not depend on index j. Denote C_(i,j,k) to be an indexof the equivalence class to which pin RC_(i,j,k) (j=1,2, . . . ,N_(i))belongs. The process of equivalent routing includes routing nets of thegiven groups such that for each group (i-th group), all receiver pins ofone class of equivalence have the equivalent routing. It means that foreach k₁ and k₂ 1<=k1<k2<=R_(i) such that C_(i,k1)=C_(i,k2) and for eachnet number j=1,2, . . . ,N_(i) all the routing paths from driver pinDR_(i,j) to receiver pin RC_(i,j,k1) and all the routing paths fromdriver pin DR_(i,j) to receiver pin RC_(i,j,k2) should haveskew-influencing properties, such as resistances and capacitances, thatare similar, and ideally the same, such that signal timing will also bethe same or within a small margin of each other across the differentnets.

In an illustrative example of a method of equivalent routing, theequivalent routing uses 2 layers, where all routing wires that lie onthe first layer have a horizontal direction, and all routing wires thatlie on the second layer have a vertical direction, or vice versa—whichlayer is labeled as which may be selected as an arbitrary convention inthis example. The present illustrative example applies to routing ofnets with fanouts 1 (R_(i)=1). It is equally applicable to equivalentrouting of nets with fanouts higher than 1 (R_(i)>1), because these canalso be reduced to equivalent configurations of routing several netsthat each have a fanout of 1, as described further below. Each net ofthese groups has 1 receiver pin, so the lower index “k” may bedisregarded and removed from the notation “RC_(i,j,k)”. All receiverpins of all nets of one group belong to one class of equivalence.

In accordance with the present illustrative method, the equivalentrouting of nets (or routing to correct or reduce differences inskew-influencing characteristics, such as the resistances and thecapacitances of corresponding connection paths) is obtained as theresult of modifying a netlist to pursue the following conditions: pathsfrom driver pins to receiver pins that must have the equivalent routingconsist of the same number of wires; the corresponding wires of thesepaths lie on the same layers and have the same lengths; and these wiresare shielded by ground nets to prevent parasitic capacitances ofneighboring wires. Connecting driver pins with receiver pins to matchthe first two of theses conditions is discussed further below, and thethird condition of shielding is discussed subsequently.

The present illustrative embodiment includes grid-based routing. Arectilinear grid may be super-imposed on a routing region and therouting wires restricted to follow paths along the vertical andhorizontal grid lines. The set of horizontal and vertical grid lines maybe called a grid network. The intersection points of horizontal andvertical grid lines are called points of the grid network. Vertical andhorizontal grid lines of the grid may be enumerated by integer numbers0, 1, 2, etc.

Pursuing equivalent routing of the connection paths includes pursuingthe following goals, in the present illustrative embodiment. The routingpaths created by the equivalent routing method should have a reducednumber of wires, ideally reduced to a minimum number possible, which inturn also leads to these paths have the minimal possible number of viasbetween layers. The routing created by the equivalent routing methodshould also use a concurrent approach, in which all net groups arerouted simultaneously. This makes it possible to prevent situations whennets of one group that have already been routed block nets of anothergroup that is yet to be routed. In the present illustrative embodiment,the method includes both the definition of the geometry of routingpaths, and the algorithm of creating these routing paths.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example regarding the geometry of routing. FIG.12 depicts two types of shapes of the routing paths, for netlists 1200and 1250. Nets of one group are being routed using geometry of the sametype. The group of nets may be said to be of type 1 or of type 2, ifnets of this group are routed by geometry of type 1 or of type 2,correspondingly. Type 1 and type 2 routing are further explained below.The routing of type 1 is simpler than the routing of type 2 in thisexample, so this illustrative method may include first attempting toroute all groups by type 1, and then resorting to routing by type 2 forremaining nets as needed, due to blockages. Any nets not susceptible torouting by type 1 should be identified after the first attempts atrouting the list of net groups.

Routing of type 1 is illustrated in netlist 1200 of FIG. 12. Routing oftype 1 involves 5 wires. Vertical wires ed and er that are connected todriver pin DR_(ij) and receiver pin RC_(ij)correspondingly are specialwires known as extension wires that have a very small length, in thepresent illustrative embodiment. The smaller the extension wires are,the more difficult it is for the equivalent routing algorithm to routethe nets successfully, but the better the quality of the equivalentrouting. Usually the maximal length of an extension wire is several tensof grids. The algorithm of the equivalent routing in the presentillustrative embodiment does not depend on the equalization of length ofextension wires for all nets of one group. Rather, the algorithm of thepresent illustrative embodiment seeks to minimize the lengths ofextension wires.

The routing of type 1 in netlist 1200 of FIG. 12 also has 3 wiresbesides the two extension wires: two horizontal wires, labeled h₁ andh₂, and one vertical wire, labeled v₁. These three wires have equalizedlengths for all nets of one net group. This means that the lengths ofwires h₁ (or h₂, or v₁) of all nets of one group must be the same.Further discussion is provided below regarding how the lengths of thesewires are equalized for the different nets of one group.

As depicted for netlist 1250 in FIG. 12, routing of type 2 also hasdriver and receiver vertical extension wires ed and er, as well as fiveother wires having equalized lengths: horizontal wires h₃, h₄ and h₅,and vertical wires v₂ and v₃. One goal of the method is to equalize thelengths of wires v₁-v₃ and h₁-h₅ of the nets of one group. This involvesproviding a way to equalize the lengths of a number N of vertical wires,while equalization of horizontal wires can be done in the same way.

As depicted in FIG. 13, the lengths of non-equalized connection paths,i.e. wires in this illustrative embodiment, of the group 1300 are s₁,s₂, . . . s_(N). Let the maximal length of these wires be s. Then, theoriginal wires s₁, s₂, . . . s_(N) are replaced with the group 1350 ofwires having more complicated shapes, where connection paths 1311, 1313,and 1315 are modified versions of connection paths 1301, 1303, 1305,respectively, from group 1300. The lengths u₁, u₂, . . . , u_(N) of theupper extensions of the wires of group 1350, and lengths d₁, d₂, . . . ,d_(N) of the lower extensions of the wires of group 1350, match theequation u_(i)+d_(i)=(s−s_(i))/2, where i=1,2, . . . ,N. As depicted inFIG. 13, the wires of group 1350 have the same length as those theymodify from group 1300, while they are merely folded in differentarrangements. The wires in group 1350 are able to substitute for thewires in group 1300 to provide the same connection paths, but withequalized lengths.

Shielding wires 1390, depicted in FIG. 13 in dotted lines, surround thewires in group 1350. The shielding wires are ground wires that are addedto protect the signal wires from skew-influencing features such asparasitic capacitances of neighbor wires, and are further discussedbelow.

This equalization process may be provided for wires v₁ through v₃ and h₁through h₅, while pin extension wires ed and ec do not require theequalization. Equalized wires occupy whole channels that consist of fiveneighbor grids. Three of the five grids of these channels (the first,third and fifth) are occupied by shielding wires, as shown around thewires in group 1350. The other two of the five grids of these channels(the second and fourth) are occupied by equalized (extended) signalwires. Two neighbor channels may have a common shielding wires placed onthe first or fifth grids. For example, for group 1350, the wire 1311 andthe wire 1313 share a common shielding wire 1390C. This shielding wirelies on the fifth grid of the channel of wire 1311 and it lies on thefirst grid of the channel of wire 1313.

Another illustrative example of equalizing connection path lengths isshown in FIG. 14. FIG. 14 also shows group 1300 of connection paths1301, 1303, 1305, along with a different illustrative modification ofthose groups, as shown in group 1450, in which connection paths 1411,1413, and 1415 are the respective modifications of the paths in group1300. The equalized (extended) connection paths shown in modified group1450 in FIG. 14 have more complex modified morphologies in comparisonwith the morphologies of the modified connection paths of group 1350 inFIG. 13. The advantage of the approach to path extension in group 1450is that this approach makes it possible to use one common channel fortwo paths if these paths are extended to the different sides. This isdepicted in FIG. 15. in which one wire 1511 is extended to the leftside, while the second wire 1513 is extended to the right side.

Methods for equalizing the connection path lengths may also use arouting algorithm, an illustrative example of which is depicted asalgorithm 1600 of FIG. 16. Algorithm 1600 may be implemented in anyapplicable software or computing environment, circuitry implementation,combination of the above, or other embodiment, in differentimplementations. The goal of a routing algorithm is to create anequivalent routing with reduced or minimized lengths of wires thatextend pins, or pin extension wires ed and er, as in the illustrativeexample above. There is an upper bound on the allowed length ofextension wires. This upper bound, which can be labeledMaxExtWireLength, is usually chosen to make skew-influencing features ofextension wires, such as their capacitances and resistances, very smallin comparison with the corresponding skew-influencing features of thepins that are extended by these wires. The upper bound MaxExtWireLengthdepends on the technologies involved in the particular implementation,and may illustratively be in the range of tens of grids, in the presentillustrative example.

Referring to the routing algorithm 1600 as depicted in FIG. 16, thefirst step performed is step 1601, wherein the various optionalextension wire lengths, labeled ExtWireLength, are examined from aseries of options defined as MaxExtWireLength/2, MaxExtWireLength/4, . .. , 1, 0. An equivalent routing is attempted for each of these lengths(or for a subset of these lengths). The minimal ExtWireLength for whichthe routing gives the best results is selected.

Once the minimal compatible extension wire length ExtWireLength isselected according to step 1601, the next steps involve seeking theminimal wire extension length between ExtWireLength and(2*ExtWireLength) using a binary partition algorithm to find theoptimized length of extension wires. This includes step 1603, ofassigning UpperLength=ExtWireLength*2 and assigningLowerLength=ExtWireLength, and step 1605 of assigningMiddleLength=(LowerLength+UpperLength)/2 and trying to create an outingfor pin extension wire length MiddleLength, and evaluating whether thissucceeds, as at decision step 1607. If it does succeed, step 1609follows, of assigning LowerLength=MiddleLength, while if it does notsucceed, step 1611 is then taken, of assigningUpperLength=MiddleLength−1. The next step 1613 is to evaluate whetherLowerLength<UpperLength. If it is, the process returns to step 1605,while if it is not, the method proceeds to step 1615, to create andoutput routing for pin extension wire length LowerLength.

FIG. 17 provides another algorithm 1700, this one for routing a givenextension wire length, labeled ExtWireLength. Algorithm 1700 may beiterated, either a fixed number of times, or with a decision to stop theiterative process once a condition defined by a set of rules is met, forexample. Even if a suitable routing is obtained in the result of someiteration, the iterations of algorithm 1700 may be continued in order toobtained a superior routing. A routing is evaluated to be superior bysatisfying conditions such as maximizing the number of groups of netsthat are successfully routed, that minimizes the length of the routingpaths, and that minimizes crosstalk between connection paths, amongother potential optimization conditions. Each of these conditions may beaccorded different weights of importance in optimization decisions, asdeemed appropriate in different embodiments.

Routing algorithm 1700 deals with the criticalities of pins. Pincriticality is some value that is assigned to a pin. The more pincriticality, the worse chance of successful routing of the net connectedto this pin. Initially, in step 1701 of algorithm 1700, all net groupsare set to be groups of type 1 and the initial criticalities of all pinsare set to be the same and equal to 1.0. Next, step 1703 involvesrunning one iteration of routing for the given pin extension length andthe given set of pin criticalities. Step 1705 involves evaluatingwhether iterations should be continued; if yes, after each of theiterations, the criticalities of the pins are reevaluated, as in step1707. If routing of some nets has failed, then criticalities of pinsconnected to these nets may be increased. Criticalities can be alsoincreased even for pins that are connected to nets that weresuccessfully routed, but blocked one or more failed nets. Criticalitiesof pins can be decreased for pins of those nets that were successfullyrouted and made no problems for routing other nets.

Initially all net groups may be routed by type 1. After each of theiterations, the decision to change the type of routing may be made, asin step 1709. The more criticality of pins connected to nets of somegroup, the better chance for this group to become a group of type 2,i.e. to become a group that is routed by type 2. And vice versa, theless criticality of pins connected to nets of some group, the betterchance for this group to be a group of type 1.

After step 1709 of changing the types of routing of the net groups,algorithm 1700 returns to step 1703. When the conditions for ceasing theiterations are met, algorithm 1700 concludes with step 1711, to outputthe routing obtained by the earlier steps.

FIG. 18 provides another routing algorithm 1800, for a given extensionwire length ExtWireLength, and a given set of pin criticalities.Algorithm 1800 may be done in one iteration, and may be used as a singleiteration of step 1703 of algorithm 1700 in FIG. 17, in one illustrativeembodiment.

Algorithm 1800 begins with step 1801, of extending the pins by extensionwires of length ExtWireLength. At this step of pin extension, verticalwires ed and er are provided, connected to driver and receiver pins. Allthese extension wires have length ExtWireLength, as depicted for path1901 in FIG. 19, except a case when 2 pins are placed on one verticalgrid and the distance D between 2 pins is less than 2*ExtWireLength, inthe present illustrative embodiment. If this happens, the lengths ofextension wires become less than ExtWireLength and these lengths areproportional to criticalities C₁ and C₂ of two pins, as depicted forpath 1903 in FIG. 19. Thus lengths of extension wires are D*C₁/(C₁+C₂)and D*C₂/(C₁+C₂), in this illustrative embodiment.

Step 1803 is then performed, for reserving vertical channels forvertical wires v₁, v₂, and v₃. A vertical channel is a group of 5neighbor vertical grids that can be used to create equalized verticalwires. For each net of a group of type 1, one channel is reserved forvertical wire v₁. For each net of a group of type 2, two channels arereserved for vertical wires v₂ and v₃, as in FIG. 12. Reserving verticalchannels requires the following conditions that are to be matched, inthe present illustrative embodiment:

1. All vertical channels may not have intersections, except in twocases: if two channels have a common first/fifth grid for shieldingwires, or if two wires share a common channel as in FIG. 15.

2. For vertical channels assigned to wires v₁ and/or v₂ there mustexists a horizontal channel that connects pin DR,_(i,j) or its extensionwires with the vertical channel; this horizontal channel will be usedfor creating horizontal wires h₁ and/or h₃ correspondingly. The moresuch horizontal channels exist, the better, in this illustrativeembodiment, especially if pin DR,_(i,j) has a large criticality. If thepin DR_(i,j) has a large criticality, the reserved vertical channelshould be close to pin DR,_(i,j), ideally as close as possible.

3. For vertical channels assigned to wires v₁ and/or v₃ there shouldexists a horizontal channel that connects pin RC_(i,j) or its extensionwires with the vertical channel; this horizontal channel will be usedfor creating horizontal wires h₂ and/or h₅ correspondingly. The moresuch horizontal channels exist, the better, especially if pin RC_(i,j)has a large criticality. If the pin RC_(i,j) has a large criticality,the reserved vertical channel should be close to pin RC_(i,j), ideallyas close as possible.

4. For each pair of vertical channels assigned to wires v₂ and v₃belonging to one net, there should exist a horizontal channel thatconnects these two vertical channels; this horizontal channel will beused for creating horizontal wire h₄. The more such horizontal channelsexist, the better.

5. All vertical channels assigned to wires v₁ of the nets of one netgroup, or assigned to wires v₂ of the nets of one net group, or assignedto wires v3 of the nets of one net group, must have the ability to beextended for equalization of the corresponding vertical wires v₁, v₂ orv₃. If these channels have lengths s₁, s₂, s_(N) and the maximal ofthese lengths is less than the i-th channel (i=1,2, . . . ,N), they musthave some reserved space for downward or upward extension by (s−s_(i))/2grids, in this illustrative embodiment.

After step 1803, step 1805 is performed, of reserving horizontalchannels for horizontal wires h₁, h₂, h₃, h₄, and h₅. Horizontalchannels are a group of five neighboring horizontal grids that can beused to create equalized horizontal wires. For each net of group of type1, two channels should be reserved for horizontal wires h₁ and h₂. Foreach net of group of type 2, three channels should be reserved forhorizontal wires h₃, h₄ and h₅, as in FIG. 12. The existence of at leastone way of reserving the horizontal channels is guaranteed by thesecond, third, and fourth conditions listed above for reserving verticalchannels. The more ways of choosing horizontal channels that areavailable, the higher the capacity to resolve conflicts betweenreserving horizontal channels of the different nets. The success or lackthereof of reserving horizontal channels therefore depends highly on howthe reserving vertical channels was done. reserving the horizontalchannels requires meeting the following two conditions:

1. All horizontal channels may not have intersections except two cases,i.e. if two channels have a common first/fifth grid for shielding wires,or if two wires share a common channel, as in FIG. 15.

2. All vertical channels assigned to wires h_(t) (t=1,2,3,4,5) of netsof one net group must have the ability to be extended for equalizationof the corresponding vertical wires h_(t). If these channels havelengths s₁, s₂, . . . s_(N) and the maximal of these lengths is lessthan the i-th channel (i=1,2, . . . ,N), they must have some reservedspace for leftward or rightward extension by (s−s_(i))/2 grids, in thisillustrative embodiment.

Finally, algorithm 1800 includes step 1807, of creating equalizedvertical wires v₁-v₃ and equalized horizontal wires h₁-h₅ in reservedchannels. The success of this final step 1807 is assured if theconditions 1 through 5 of reserving vertical channels and the conditions1 and 2 of reserving horizontal wires are satisfied, in thisillustrative embodiment.

FIGS. 20 and 21 depict additional examples of netlists that have beenmodified by an equivalent routing process such as those described above.FIG. 20 depicts netlist 2000 with one net that has a fanout of 2.Netlist 2000 includes a driver pin 2001, connection path segments 2002through 2007, and receiver pins 2011, 2013. The connection path segmentsare shielded, as depicted in dashed lines surrounding them; theshielding is further discussed below. The geometry of the routing fromdriver pin 2001 to receiver pin 2011 and from driver pin 2001 toreceiver pin 2013 are equivalent. These two connection routes follow thearc of connection path segments 2001-2002-2003-2004 and2001-2002-2005-2006, respectively, where each path segment in each lineis either identical, or has the same length, and the same orientation(either horizontal or vertical) as the corresponding path segment in theother connection path, thereby reducing or minimizing skew-influencingfeatures that might otherwise be associated with non-equivalentconnection paths.

Similarly, FIG. 21 depicts netlist 2100, which includes three nets 2110,2120, 2130, each of fanout 1, and each equivalent to each other. Thatis, each of these three nets includes the same number of connection pathsegments, and each connection path segment has one correspondingconnection path segment of the same length, and the same orientation,either horizontal or vertical, and on the same layer, in each of theother two nets. Each of the three nets therefore has reduced orminimized or corrected skew-influencing features among them, so thatthey have equivalent features that influence signal timing, such asresistances, capacitances, and signal timing delays.

FIGS. 22-26 provide a closer description of providing grounded shieldingwires adjacent to at least a portion of the connection paths, accordingto another illustrative embodiment involved in reducing skew-influencingfeatures across the connection paths of a netlist, which may be combinedwith other involved techniques including equivalent routing, pathequalization, and enhanced timing closure, for example. Providinggrounded shielding wires adjacent to the connection paths contributes toreducing skew-influencing features of the netlist, including byinhibiting the appearance of parasitic capacitances of neighboringconnection paths.

A netlist, embodying a circuit design, for example, may have a largenumber of groups of equivalent nets. Each group of nets may have amultiple number of nets. As far as nets of one group have an equivalentrouting (satisfying conditions 1 and 2, as described above), these netshave much longer routing paths than they have in the case of the regularrouting. Grounded wires may be added to shield these paths. Theshielding ground wires may surround the original connection paths, e.g.signal wires in an illustrative embodiment, from different sides. It maybe advantageous in some embodiments to add several neighboring shieldingwires having the same length as the original signal wire, adjacent tothat original signal wire.

FIG. 22 depicts grounded shielding wires provided adjacent to a signalwire connection path. Specifically, layer 2201 has a signal wire 2203alone, depicted both in perspective view at 2200A and in side plan viewat 2200B. Layer 2211 includes signal wire 2203 with grounded shieldingwires 2205 disposed adjacent to it on either side, on layer 2211, asshown again both in perspective view at 2210A and in side plan view at2210B. At 2220A and 2220B (in perspective view and side plan view,respectively), layer 2211 is depicted again, this time also surroundedby additional layers 2231 and 2233, where layer 2211 again includessignal wire 2203 with grounded shielding wires 2205 disposed adjacent toit on either side, and layers 2231 and 2233 both include threeadditional grounded shielding wires 2205, disposed adjacent to theconnection path of signal wire 2203 across the layers. Signal wire 2203therefore is largely surrounded by eight grounded shielding wires 2205,both on its own layer 2211 and on adjacent layers 2231, 2233, in thisillustrative example, and is thereby very effectively electricallyshielded, and unlikely to present significant skew-influencing effectson surrounding signal connection paths, such as by crosstalk orparasitic capacitance. A wide variety of other shielding arrangementsand morphologies may also be used in many other embodiments, with avariety of numbers of shielding wires or other shielding elements fullyor partly surrounding selected portions of signal connection paths,which may also provide effective signal shielding as appropriate forthose embodiments.

The number of shield wires and the total length of shield wires maybecome very large in some embodiments. One problem that may arise atthis stage is to connect all shield wires to ground pins of the netlist.A given netlist may have multiple ground pins. Shielding methodsprovided by the present disclosure may include methods of connectingmultiple shielding wires to ground pins in preselected arrangements.This may be a significant aspect of a shielding method embodiment giventhe potentially very large number of grounded shielding wires desirablein some embodiments. Selecting a design for the grounded shielding maybe guided by the criterion of making the required connections affect assmall a routing area of the design as possible. This problem becomesever more significant with larger netlists because connecting shieldwires to ground pins is performed after all signal wires of the designare routed, so that the area available for creation of the shieldingconnecting wires is significantly constrained.

Another aspect of the connecting of the shielding wires to ground pinsis memory usage. A netlist may have linear dimensions on the order ofseveral tens of thousands of grids. Thus, the grid network of thenetlist may contain billions of points. This makes it infeasible to usealgorithms that require time and/or memory that is proportional to thenumber of points of the grid network of the netlist.

An illustrative embodiment of a method for providing grounded shieldingwires for a netlist is provided as algorithm 2300 in FIG. 23. Algorithm2300 begins with step 2301, of creating shielding wires that surroundsignal wires, as illustratively depicted in FIG. 22, as described above.Algorithm 2300 continues with step 2303, of building a network ofhorizontal and vertical auxiliary ground wires; these facilitatesignificantly reducing the time and memory that is needed for connectingshield wires to ground pins. This step may be helpful especially incases where the ground pins are non-uniformly distributed over thedesign.

One illustrative example of a netlist design with non-uniformdistribution of ground pins is depicted in FIG. 24 as netlist 2400,which includes ground pins 2401, 2403, 2405, where the ground pinsextend in a plane-perpendicular direction, and are depicted incross-section. FIG. 24 also depicts netlist 2410, in which the netlistis divided into a group of rectilinear regions, some of which maycontain shielding wires and some which may not. Netlist 2420 indicatesthe rectilinear regions 2421, 2423 within the netlist that containshielding wires, where the individual shielding wires within the regions2421, 2423 are not individually depicted, due to scale. Netlist 2430indicates the same netlist after being modified by performing step 2303,in which a network of horizontal and vertical auxiliary groundedshielding wires 2431 are provided, in conductive connection with theground pins 2401, 2403, 2405, within regions 2421, 2423 that contain theoriginal shielding wires. Those original shielding wires in regions2421, 2423 may therefore be connected via the newly added auxiliaryshielding wires 2431, to ground pins 2401, 2403, 2405, to provide forthe shielding wires to be grounded.

The newly added auxiliary shielding wires 2431 are provided in such away to follow the conditions that they intersect the selected regions2421, 2423 that contain the original shielding wires, or otherwiseprovide the capability of connecting a shielding wire with at least oneof the ground pins 2401, 2403, 2405. One of the selected regions 2421,2423, which may each contain many shielding wires, may also includeseveral of the auxiliary shielding wires 2431. Dealing with theindividual shielding wires within one of the selected regions isconsidered next.

The shielding wires that belong to one of the selected regions 2421,2423 may be grouped into initial clusters, as in step 2305 of algorithm2300. In an illustrative embodiment, two shielding wires are grouped inone cluster if and only if one of two conditions are met: first, ifthese wires “intersect”, i.e. they lie on two perpendicular layers andcan be connected by one via between these two layers; or if these wireslie on the same layer but can be connected by a wire of a relativelyshort length that also belongs to the same layer. Creating the clusterstherefore may include creating some new vias, to pursue the firstcondition, and creating some new short connecting wires, to pursue thesecond condition. An illustrative example of this is depicted in FIG.25. The original shielding wires of one region are depicted at 2501,prior to clusterization. The same shielding wires are again depicted at2511, after clusterization, in which two clusters 2521, 2523 have beenformed, to include the original shielding wires in the region. Theseinclude newly created, in-layer, short wire segments 2531, and newlycreated vias 2533 (the vias shown in cross-section, with the vias beingplane-perpendicular in this view, to connect between layers).

Algorithm 2300 next includes step 2307, of evaluating whether there areany clusters not yet connected to ground. If there are, a set of steps2309-2315 may be applied iteratively until there no longer remain anyclusters not yet connected to ground.

The distance between two clusters of wires (or distance between acluster and auxiliary ground wires) is a minimal length of routing pathsthat connects some wire of the first cluster with some wire of thesecond cluster (or some wire of cluster with some auxiliary groundwire). The length of the routing path is the sum of lengths of wires ofthis path. In the present illustrative example, two points of a gridnetwork may be classified as neighboring points if and only if twoconditions are met: first, these points have the same coordinates andlie on the different layers such that they allow a via to connects thesetwo points between the layers; or, both these points lie on the samelayer and these points can be connected by one wire with length 1,meaning that these points are not blocked by some signal wire or someother blockage.

To perform the step 2309 of finding a minimal distance D between a pairof clusters, and to find out all the clusters that can be connected tosome auxiliary ground wire by a path of length less than D, thefollowing steps can be performed, in an illustrative example:

1. Let N be the number of clusters.

2. Label all points of the grid network that belong to some wire of k-thcluster (k=1,2, . . . N) by a pair of integers (k, 0).

3. For each T=1, 2, 3, 4, . . . perform the following actions 4-6.

4. If there is a pair of neighbor points of grid network with labels(k₁,t₁) and (k₂,t₂) such that k₁=k₂, then stop the process. The minimaldistance between 2 clusters is D=t₁+t₂ and pair of clusters is k₁ andk₂.

5. If there is a point labeled (k,T−1) that has some neighbor pointbelonging to some auxiliary ground wire, then the cluster k can beconnected to this ground wire by some path of length less than D.

6. Examine all unlabeled points that are neighbors of points having alabel (k,T−1) and assign a label (k,T) to them (k=1,2, . . . N).

This method finds not only a minimal distance between a pair ofclusters, but also constructs the corresponding routing paths forconnecting two clusters in one new cluster and for connecting somecluster to auxiliary ground wires. These connections are shown at 2600and 2650, respectively, in FIG. 26, with a connection of one cluster k1to another cluster k2 at 2600, and of one cluster k to an auxiliaryground wire 2661, at 2650. This thereby provides an illustrative exampleof performing the steps in algorithm 2300, of step 2311, to connectclusters to auxiliary ground wires if the length of the connection isnot greater than D, and remove these clusters from furtherconsideration; step 2313, of evaluating whether such clusters exist; andstep 2315, of connecting pairs of clusters into one cluster if thedistance between these clusters is not greater than D. Once those stepsare performed to the point where there are no longer any shieldingclusters not yet connected to ground, then step 2317 may be performed,of removing any unused auxiliary wires. Finally, then, step 2319 isperformed, of outputting the final shielding for the netlist.

Although the present disclosure has been described with reference toparticular illustrative embodiments, workers skilled in the art willrecognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departingfrom the disclosure or the claims herein. As one illustrative example,components that may be described in a particular embodiment may beequivalently provided in one single integrated circuit chip, or withcomponents distributed over two or more integrated circuit chips, orwith various integrated circuit chips distributed over a computermotherboard or other circuit board, or with some or all elementsdistributed over other types of circuits, computing device elements, andother hardware and software resources. As another illustrative example,it is well understood that any instance of an element being described“illustratively” or as an “illustrative example” means in part that itrefers to just one possible embodiment out of a wide variety of otherembodiments with other configurations that differ from those explicitlydescribed herein, but that will be understood by those skilled in theart also to lie within the scope of the subject matter defined by theappended claims. As another illustrative example, method steps describedabove may be performed by one or more integrated circuit chips, or withone or more or all of the method steps performed on other types ofhardware or software elements. Many other variations among differentembodiments may also be made within the metes and bounds of the subjectmatter described by the present disclosure and defined by the claimsrecited below.

1. A method comprising performing the following steps with a computingdevice: receiving a netlist comprising components and connections amongthe components, each connection comprising at least one signal wire;identifying a plurality of net groups, each net group comprising atleast some of the connections and for which equivalent routing isdesired; and for each net group, systematically routing connection pathsbetween the components for the connections, each connection pathextending between an output of one of the components and an input to atleast one other of the components and comprising at least one pathfragment, wherein routing comprises, for at least one of the connectionsof the net group, routing at least one grounded shielding wire in arouting channel adjacent and parallel to at least one of the pathfragments of the connection path.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinrouting further comprises: routing first and second grounded shieldingwires in respective routing channels that are adjacent to and onopposing sides of the at least one path fragment.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the respective routing channels are in a same routing layeras the at least one path fragment resides or are in respective routinglayers that are adjacent to and on opposing sides of a routing layer onwhich the at least one path fragment resides.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein routing further comprises: routing first and second groundedshielding wires in respective routing channels that are adjacent to andon opposing sides of the at least one path fragment within a firstrouting layer in which the at least one path fragment resides; routingthird and fourth grounded shielding wires in respective routing channelsthat are adjacent to and on opposing sides of the at least one pathfragment in respective third and fourth routing layers that are adjacentto and on opposing sides of the first routing layer on which the atleast one path fragment resides; routing fifth and sixth groundedshielding wires in respective routing channels that are adjacent to andon opposing sides of the third grounded shielding wire within the secondrouting layer; and routing seventh and eighth grounded shielding wiresin respective routing channels that are adjacent to and on opposingsides of the fourth grounded shielding wire within the third routinglayer, such that the first through eighth grounded shielding wiressurround the at least one path fragment.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising: providing one or more shielding networks ofauxiliary horizontal and/or vertical ground wires connected to one ormore ground pins; providing conductive connections between one or moresets of the shielding wires, thereby grouping the one or more sets ofthe shielding wires into one or more shielding clusters; and for eachshielding cluster, providing a conductive connection between at leastone of the shielding wires in that shielding cluster and at least one ofthe auxiliary ground wires.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein groupingthe one or more sets of the shielding wires into one or more shieldingclusters comprises: grouping a first and a second of the shielding wiresin a same cluster if an only if: the first and second wires intersect inperpendicular routing channels of different layers such that the firstand second shielding wires can be connected by a single via between thefirst and second layers; or the first and second wires lie on a samelayer and can be connected by a conductive connection having less than apredetermined length.
 7. The method of claim 5, further comprising,after grouping the one or more sets of the shielding wires into one ormore shielding clusters: joining a first of the shielding clusters witha second of the shielding clusters into a combined cluster with aconductive segment, if a distance between the first and second clustersis not greater than a predetermined distance.
 8. The method of claim 5,further comprising: prior to providing one or more shielding networks,identifying one or more regions of a physical design of the netlist thatcontains at least some of the shielding wires; and routing the auxiliaryhorizontal and/or vertical ground wires of the one or more shieldingnetworks within the one or more regions.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the at least one grounded shielding wire has a substantiallysame length as the path fragment along which the grounded shielding wireis routed.
 10. The method of claim 1, the connections in each net groupcomprise corresponding path fragments and wherein routing at least onegrounded shielding wire comprises: for a given path fragment of a givenconnection in the net group, routing a respective, grounded shieldingwire adjacent and parallel to that path fragment, which is equivalent tothe grounded shielding wires of the corresponding path fragments in theother connections of that net group with respect to length and position.11. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying a plurality of net groupscomprises at least one of: identifying a group of the connections havinga common signal origin; or identifying a group of the connections havinga parallel signal origin within the netlist.
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein each of the net groups corresponds to the connections betweenthe components of a respective heterogeneous logic block within thenetlist.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of identifying aplurality of net groups and routing comprises a systematic,single-iteration process for reducing skew timing differences along theconnection paths between the components of each of the net groups.
 14. Anon-transitory medium comprising executable instructions capable ofbeing read and executed by a computing system and thereby configuringthe computing system to receive a logic design and to provide acorresponding physical design embodying the logic design, wherein thecomputing system executing the instructions performs a methodcomprising: receiving a netlist comprising components and connectionsamong the components, each connection comprising at least one signalwire; identifying a plurality of net groups, each net group comprisingat least some of the connections and for which equivalent routing isdesired; and for each net group, systematically routing connection pathsbetween the components for the connections, each connection pathextending between an output of one of the components and an input to atleast one other of the components and comprising at least one pathfragment, wherein routing comprises, for at least one of the connectionsof the net group, routing at least one grounded shielding wire in arouting channel adjacent and parallel to at least one of the pathfragments of the connection path.
 15. The non-transitory medium of claim14, wherein routing further comprises: routing first and second groundedshielding wires in respective routing channels that are adjacent to andon opposing sides of the at least one path fragment.
 16. Thenon-transitory medium of claim 14, wherein the respective routingchannels are in a same routing layer as the at least one path fragmentresides or are in respective routing layers that are adjacent to and onopposing sides of a routing layer on which the at least one pathfragment resides.
 17. The non-transitory medium of claim 14, whereinrouting further comprises: routing first and second grounded shieldingwires in respective routing channels that are adjacent to and onopposing sides of the at least one path fragment within a first routinglayer in which the at least one path fragment resides; routing third andfourth grounded shielding wires in respective routing channels that areadjacent to and on opposing sides of the at least one path fragment inrespective third and fourth routing layers that are adjacent to and onopposing sides of the first routing layer on which the at least one pathfragment resides; routing fifth and sixth grounded shielding wires inrespective routing channels that are adjacent to and on opposing sidesof the third grounded shielding wire within the second routing layer;and routing seventh and eighth grounded shielding wires in respectiverouting channels that are adjacent to and on opposing sides of thefourth grounded shielding wire within the third routing layer, such thatthe first through eighth grounded shielding wires surround the at leastone path fragment.
 18. The non-transitory medium of claim 14, furthercomprising: providing one or more shielding networks of auxiliaryhorizontal and/or vertical ground wires connected to one or more groundpins; providing conductive connections between one or more sets of theshielding wires, thereby grouping the one or more sets of the shieldingwires into one or more shielding clusters; and for each shieldingcluster, providing a conductive connection between at least one of theshielding wires in that shielding cluster and at least one of theauxiliary ground wires.
 19. The non-transitory medium of claim 18,wherein grouping the one or more sets of the shielding wires into one ormore shielding clusters comprises: grouping a first and a second of theshielding wires in a same cluster if an only if: the first and secondwires intersect in perpendicular routing channels of different layerssuch that the first and second shielding wires can be connected by asingle via between the first and second layers; or the first and secondwires lie on a same layer and can be connected by a conductiveconnection having less than a predetermined length.
 20. Thenon-transitory medium of claim 18, further comprising, after groupingthe one or more sets of the shielding wires into one or more shieldingclusters: joining a first of the shielding clusters with a second of theshielding clusters into a combined cluster with a conductive segment, ifa distance between the first and second clusters is not greater than apredetermined distance.
 21. The non-transitory medium of claim 18,further comprising: prior to providing one or more shielding networks,identifying one or more regions of a physical design of the netlist thatcontains at least some of the shielding wires; and routing the auxiliaryhorizontal and/or vertical ground wires of the one or more shieldingnetworks within the one or more regions.
 22. The non-transitory mediumof claim 14, wherein the at least one grounded shielding wire has asubstantially same length as the path fragment along which the groundedshielding wire is routed.
 23. The non-transitory medium of claim 14, theconnections in each net group comprise corresponding path fragments andwherein routing at least one grounded shielding wire comprises: for agiven path fragment of a given connection in the net group, routing arespective, grounded shielding wire adjacent and parallel to that pathfragment, which is equivalent to the grounded shielding wires of thecorresponding path fragments in the other connections of that net groupwith respect to length and position.
 24. The non-transitory medium ofclaim 14, wherein identifying a plurality of net groups comprises atleast one of: identifying a group of the connections having a commonsignal origin; or identifying a group of the connections having aparallel signal origin within the netlist.
 25. The non-transitory mediumof claim 14, wherein each of the net groups corresponds to theconnections between the components of a respective heterogeneous logicblock within the netlist.
 26. The non-transitory medium of claim 14,wherein the steps of identifying a plurality of net groups and routingcomprises a systematic, single-iteration process for reducing skewtiming differences along the connection paths between the components ofeach of the net groups.